


Tooth and Claw

by peppermintquartz



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Baze the Beast, Chirrut the Smartarse, M/M, No there will be no bestiality, Yes there will be a happy ending, fairytale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9605780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermintquartz/pseuds/peppermintquartz
Summary: Baze Malbus, the last Guardian of the Temple of the Whills, was turned into a monstrous beast by an imperial sorcerer ten years ago. He was about to give up hope when one day, someone walked into the temple.Baze wanted him gone. Chirrut Imwe had other ideas.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been ten years and Baze was ready to give up. What good was hope? What good was faith? He would forever be a monster. His huge paws grasped the stone pillar of the temple and he averted his gaze from the stern, silent statues still watching over them. They would be disappointed in him, he supposed. The Whills were known to persevere. 

He was the only one left of the three Guardians of the Temple of the Whills. He would have left if not for his... condition, and the three novices who had been unlucky enough to have been there when the imperial sorcerer cast his spell needed his protection.

The other two guardians’ time ran out two years ago. The glow of their kyber crystals had faded and sputtered out one rainy night. Baze had held their paws in his own as they slowly fell asleep, and even in death they had not reverted to their human forms. Baze buried them just outside the temple gardens and set up two grave markers, using his claws to carve their names on two wooden doors. He carved his own too, on his own door, and told Cassian -- the oldest -- what to do when the time came.

“Uncle Baze! Uncle Baze!” Bodhi clattered in. He had been a wide-eyed kid fascinated with flight and machines; now he resembled a raccoon, and his long bunny ears were pricked with keen interest. “There’s a man entering the Sanctum!”

“A man? Did he not see the warning signs?” Baze growled. His gruffness was due to the change in his vocal cords more than displeasure. Bodhi had learned the difference by now.

“No, Uncle Baze,” said Bodhi, clambering to sit on the shoulders of Baze’s hulking form. “He’s blind. I can hear his cane tapping away now.”

Baze grunted and rose to his feet. In his monstrous shape, he towered over most men at nine feet tall, and his mane tumbled down in thick, matted locks. He would chase the man away before he could discover the secrets of the temple. The imperial sorcerer had done enough damage already.

Moving quietly up the stairs to the entrance, Baze and Bodhi peered around to see the blind man now seated on one of the few cushions scattered about the Sanctum.

"Hello! Is there anyone here?" the man called out. He was one of their own from a different temple, Baze realized, with the dark robes for those of the faith and short hair. The red under-robe suggested he was from the south.

Baze motioned for Bodhi to leave. He did not like scaring the little one, not with where he came from. Once he was sure Bodhi had scurried to the safety of the other novices, he strode into the hall, making sure his steps were as heavy as his hind paws could make them.

The man followed Baze's progress around the Sanctum, his face brightening. "Ah, you've finally emerged from hiding. Hello there."

"Who are you?" Baze asked, his voice rumbling low and threatening in his throat. He scratched his claws across the wall, leaving more gouge marks. "Why have you come here?"

"Interesting sound. What was that?"

"Your name!" Baze bellowed. His nostrils flared and he bared his massive fangs. Pointless display, of course - the blind man would not be able to see how frightening he was.

The man grinned, showing too much teeth and gum. "Chirrut. Chirrut Imwe. I'm on a pilgrimage to all the Temples of the Whills."

"Get out."

"That's not very hospitable of you," Chirrut complained, tapping the end of his walking stick.

Baze growled again. "This temple no longer welcomes pilgrims or visitors. Leave, or I will throw you out myself."

"The courtesies of this temple certainly wants renewing."

"Which part of 'leave' are you not comprehending?" the guardian roared.

"The part where I am to go without even a meal." The blind man folded his arms. "I've walked for two days and I will get some food and rest first. Now, do I have to find your kitchen and make my own food, or will you be decent enough to give a starving blind man something to eat?"

Baze growled again.

"You don't scare me with those sounds, you know," said Chirrut, smirking. "I heard the little one just now. I won't hurt them, you know. I like children."

The guardian bristled, his hackles rising. "You stay away from them."

Chirrut held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, Papa Bear. But I would definitely like some food. My stomach's about to growl as loudly as you."

Baze was about to snap a rude answer when they both heard a small voice pipe up at the entrance, "Please, Uncle Baze, can't we give him something to eat?"

Turning around, Baze saw Bodhi peeping in. Behind him were Jyn and Cassian, all curious and alert. Cassian's sleek sable fur rippled as he scrambled forward to Baze, ready to take the brunt of the guardian's scolding.

"Uncle Baze, please don't be angry with us. Bodhi said that we had a visitor who - who's from somewhere else and we just... We thought it'd be nice to talk to someone from the outside. Even if it's for just one evening."

Baze looked at the brave young otter-like Cassian nervously washing his narrow paws together, his pointed ears flattened in contrition. When the guardian's eyes skated over to his other two charges, Bodhi squeaked and hid behind the door again, with only the tips of his ears showing.

Then Baze sighed. "Jyn, fill a bowl from the pot for His Annoyingness. And don't allow him to touch any of you."

"I resent the implied insult to my integrity," Chirrut called out. Then he smiled in the direction of the kids. "Thank you all. My stomach and my feet are really grateful."

Jyn narrowed her feline eyes at the visitor and snorted delicately. "Whatever. Hope you like cabbage and turnip. That's all we got at the moment."

"A veritable feast since I will be dining among friendly faces," said Chirrut warmly. "And with you, _Uncle_ Baze."

"You don't get to call me uncle."

"Baze, then. A pleasure to meet you." Chirrut held out a hand, plainly expecting a handshake. 

Ignoring the outstretched hand, Baze rumbled a warning at the others but it was not necessary. Cassian took Bodhi by the hand and led him away, Jyn trailing after the boys. Though Baze's hearing was not as sharp as Bodhi's, he still heard Chirrut say, "The courtesies of this temple really need a lot of work."


	2. Chapter 2

Dinner was a tense affair, at least on Baze's part. Chirrut, on the other hand, merrily chattered away as he tucked into the scant dinner, fortified with cold burweet buns. The children hung onto the visitor's every word. Bodhi was full of questions that he'd whisper into Cassian's ears, and Cassian would voice them; Jyn pretended disinterest, but her ears remained pricked up as Chirrut talked about the Empire and the rebels.

Baze listened intently, but said nothing. As he suspected, the Imperial sorcerers were still hunting for kyber ore for their dark magics. Chirrut talked a lot, but what he shared was mostly innocuous; Baze wondered how much the man really knew.

“Bedtime,” Baze rumbled after the dishes had been washed. Cassian had nearly dropped a plate when he took it from their guest, but Chirrut had only patted Cassian's sleeve, not on his paw. It had been a close shave. “Chirrut, I'll show you your room. Don't go wandering about the temple. _Definitely_ do not go into the Sanctum.”

“Why?” Chirrut kept pace with him, just a step behind his hulking form, his staff tapping quietly to explore the width of the walkway.

“Because that's where the children sleep.” Baze's fur bristled and he shook it off. “I will not have a stranger barging in on them while they rest.”

“That room is drafty though.”

“They have their own corner that's well out of the wind.” Baze stopped himself from explaining to this stranger. Instead, he led Chirrut to one of the old bedrooms in the back. “Stay here. I'll come get you in the morning.”

Chirrut beamed at him, his milky blue eyes gazing at Baze's right ear. “Thank you. I will make myself comfortable.”

***

Once he made sure the great brass-clad doors were closed, Baze stalked the perimeter of the temple until the moon was at its zenith. He could hear distant howls, reverberating and doubling as another pack – closer, from the sounds of them – took up the call. The air was beginning to show its teeth of ice and frost. In another week or so, snow would descend and blanket the area.

_We'll need to check the walls. Make sure the holes have been sealed. Cassian and I can do that after we put the roots into storage. Bodhi will have to check the roof with Jyn; we cannot have a leak when winter arrives._

Baze paused. Somehow, he would have to chase Chirrut away before the winter comes. Though they could probably feed that monk all through the season, there was no source of warmth other than the old heating unit in the Sanctum that they had repaired the first, desperate year. The children and Baze could retain heat quite well with their fur under their clothes. Any human would find it far too cold to live there in the temple.

He was on the way back to the Sanctum when he heard footfalls. Instantly on guard, Baze crept along the corridors, his nose straining to pick up a scent.

Finally, as he went around the corner towards the Sanctum, he saw Chirrut making his way along, a hand on the wall for guidance.

“I told you to stay in your room,” Baze growled.

Chirrut swiveled around, relief in his face. “I needed to use the facilities, but I must have taken a wrong turning somewhere. Also, it was really chilly, so I was hoping I could find you to beg for an extra covering or something.”

“Follow me.” Baze stalked past the monk. However, as he passed Chirrut, the other man reached out to grab his paw.

They both froze.

It was clear that Chirrut had expected a human hand. His fingers clasped the edge of Baze's paw. There was no mistaking that for a hand, not with the thick fur nor the rough paw pads.

Until this moment, Baze had forgotten how small and frail a human hand could be, compared to his monstrous form. He ripped his paw away from Chirrut's loose hold.

“You-”

“Get out,” Baze snarled. His fur bristled and his tail swished angrily. “Get out!”

“What?” Chirrut asked. “Why?”

Baze did not answer. Instead, he swept the man up in his arm, catching his staff with his other paw, and then bodily hauled him to the entrance. Flinging one of the doors open, Baze tossed Chirrut out, and to make doubly sure, he hurled the man's staff into his chest.

“Baze! What are you doing?” Chirrut asked, sounding hurt and confused.

“Leave!” Baze roared, and slammed the brass-clad door shut with a resounding clang. He rested his great horned head against it, his mane falling around his face and hiding his eyes from the sight of his thick, furry paws pressed to the door.

 


	3. Chapter 3

When Baze made it back to the Sanctum, three pairs of eyes stared at him.

“You should be asleep,” Baze growled.

“We were until you yelled and slammed the doors,” said Cassian. His sleek fur bristled and settled again when Baze made a warning sound. He was maturing well, but Baze was not in the mood for his authority to be challenged.

Bodhi's ears were flattened down his back. He sounded meeker than usual when he asked, “What happened, Uncle Baze?”

“Master Chirrut had to leave.”

“At this hour?” Jyn sounded skeptical. “Uncle Baze, what _really_ happened?”

Baze felt his claws press against the heels of his paws as he clenched his fingers. “Go to sleep, kids. We have other things to worry about than that blind intruder.”

“But Uncle Baze... I can hear wolves out there,” said Bodhi worriedly. “It's not safe for-”

“That's his problem,” Baze cut in, and then turned to go to Chirrut's room to throw out whatever scant possessions the man had.

Bodhi jerked his head back, as though stunned by the rebuke. Cassian patted him soothingly, but instead of settling back into their pallets to sleep, Bodhi bounded out of bed and charged straight towards the main gates.

“Bodhi!” Baze shouted. “Come back!”

Bodhi ignored him. He dashed down the corridor and threw open the doors. When he did not see Chirrut outside, he ran down the steps and followed the tracks in the dirt.

The others were not as fast as he was. Jyn was the first to see Bodhi leaping into the woods, but the shadows of the trees soon swallowed him. Cassian skidded to a stop by the doorway, and Baze caught up not three heartbeats later.

“Bodhi's followed him,” Jyn said, her feline eyes dark and round. “I think he's gone to save Chirrut.”

“The fool.” Baze loped down the stairs. “Stay here, both of you! I can't be looking after all three of you at once- Jyn!”

“I can see better in the night than you can.” She was entirely unrepentant. “Cassian, keep close.”

***

Chirrut was lost. He was angry, too, but that was not the dominant emotion right now.

He was lost and he was sure he heard wolves howling.

Normally he did not mind wild animals, but this close to winter, the beasts would take any prey available to them. While he was good at defending himself with his staff, fighting off a whole pack of ravenous wolves would be quite impossible. Even so, there was no way he could return to the shelter of the temple.

He really should not have left the temple, but he was irate at Baze's rude behavior and shocked by his discovery.

Baze Malbus was no human. Or rather, he was not human any longer.

Chirrut had been so pleased to have found the temple and its Sanctum still standing. The Kyber Keystone had been found there, and the Guardians of the Whills became its protector. But ten years ago, imperial sorcerers attacked and stole the Kyber Keystone, and killed all within the walls of the temple.

Or that was what Chirrut had heard.

He had come on his pilgrimage with an aim to learn what lay in the temple. Even though the Keystone was long gone, its essence permeated the walls and floors. Chirrut had felt its embrace the second he'd stepped onto its grounds. He had not expected people to still live there, let alone a former Guardian.

But Baze Malbus was not human any longer.

 _Imperial magic,_ Chirrut mused. _Dark magic, driven by greed and fear and hate. Poor Malbus._

_Wait, why am I feeling bad for him? He threw me out, literally!_

_But... to have been transformed into a beast... To have to live away from human interaction for the past decade... It must have been lonely._

_But he has the kids. If they're with him, he can't be **that** monstrous._

_But why would the kids remain with him? Why would he **keep** the kids with him? Surely he would want them to venture outside and explore the world._

“Chirrut! Chirrut!”

The blind man stopped in his tracks. Was it a trick of the wind?

“Chirrut! Where are you?”

“Bodhi?” Chirrut was astonished. “Bodhi!”

“There you are!” The young one bounded up to him. The sound of his running feet told Chirrut that Bodhi was not wearing boots. In fact, the sound of Bodhi's feet resembled the soft padding of paws.

 _By the Whills, they're all not human._ Chirrut smiled in Bodhi's general vicinity. “Bodhi, what are you doing here?”

“Why have you left? You left without saying goodbye,” said Bodhi nervously, shuffling in the leaf litter. “I know... I know Uncle Baze isn't friendly, and when he yells he's really scary, but please don't go. I like having you in the temple. And it's not safe out here right now, I can hear-”

“Wolves,” Chirrut finished. He turned, staff at the ready. “Bodhi, if you can climb a tree, do it now.”

“Oh no,” said Bodhi, very quietly.

The two of them fell silent, but there was no mistaking it: the hungry, drawn-out growl of a wolf, waiting to make its first move.

***

Baze felt his hackles rise when the wind changed. Jyn and Cassian sensed it too, for they picked up speed, following Bodhi's scent, now mingled with something entirely feral.

They heard the fighting before they crashed into the clearing. Their arrival did not distract the animals from their intended prey, which they had cornered against a large tree.

“Up the tree!” Baze ordered Cassian and Jyn. This time, they did not argue.

Standing a few paces ahead, Chirrut wielded his staff into a blur, smacking and shoving aside starving wolves as the beasts inched forward. Behind Chirrut, Bodhi held a large branch, trembling and frightened, but still ready to defend himself.

“Uncle Baze!” Bodhi cried out when he saw Baze's hulking form rush forward.

His cry drew Chirrut's attention away from fighting for a split second. One of the larger beasts took the chance and grabbed the end of his staff, tugging it aside, and another leaped for his throat.

Baze jumped at the same time and the wolf's teeth sank into his arm.

Roaring in agony and rage, Baze ripped the wolf from his arm and flung it against another tree. It hit the trunk with a thud and collapsed into a furry heap. Baze swept up another – the one biting Chirrut's staff – and hurled it at its pack mates. He bared his fangs at them and roared again.

When a third one lunged forward to roll him over, Baze grappled with it and bit down on its throat. The wolf scrabbled madly with its claws but Baze held on until he felt bone and cartilage give way. Hot, stinking blood washed over his muzzle and into his mouth. He spat and threw the carcass at the wolves, who then scattered into the gloomy shadows.

“Bodhi, Chirrut, come on,” he said. “Let's get out of here.”

“Only if you don't throw me out again in the middle of the night,” Chirrut said, panting.

Baze grunted. “Middle of the day the next time. Come on, before they get back.”

“Uncle Baze, your belly,” Bodhi whispered.

Baze looked down at his ruined shirt, and at his bloody abdomen where the wolf had tried to disembowel him in its death throes. There was a lot of blood, far more than what the wolf had shed. Then the pain and dizziness hit him and he fell to his knees.

“That's... not good,” he whispered, and toppled over.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for the long delay - a backlog of work has been really overwhelming and fanfic was the furthest thing from my mind. i'll try to post the next chapter by this weekend!


	4. Chapter 4

When Baze drifted back to consciousness, he was already back in his old room in the temple, lying flat on the bed. To his surprise, there was a small fire going in the little iron stove. He wondered who had lit it; Cassian stayed away from open flame, and neither Jyn nor Bodhi was good with matches.

It had to be Chirrut then.

Jyn and Cassian were tending to the long gouges in his belly, with the former handing bandages and cloths to the latter to help clean away the blood. Bodhi was sitting by his head, while the blind man sat cross-legged on the floor, chanting prayers under his breath.

“I'm alright,” said Baze. His voice was a deeper growl than usual. “Don't look so worried, Bodhi.”

The youngest of the children sniffled. “I'm sorry you got hurt rescuing us.”

“I'm fine, Bodhi. These are just – ow!”

“Sorry Uncle Baze.”

“No, it's alright. I just didn't – hsssssss – that stings.” Baze clenched his paws. Then he sniffs. “What's that smell?”

Chirrut stopped his praying. “It's bacta gel, with genja extract. Of course it stings. And... stinks.”

“Bacta? We don't have – hsss – we don't have bacta in the temple. Or genja spice, for that matter.” Even in the days before the spell, it was impossible to get more than a teaspoon of genja extract.

“It's mine,” said Chirrut. Then, he added more quietly, “Thank you. You saved my life.”

Feeling a hot prickle creep up his neck, Baze muttered,“You're welcome.”

“You threw me out in the first place and yelled at me for a very minor thing,” Chirrut continued, raising an eyebrow.

Of course the monk had to mention it. Baze snarled. “You were the one wandering around when I told you not to.”

Jyn slapped Baze on his uninjured arm. She scowled at him when he glared at her. “You overreacted, Uncle Baze. Now quit twitching.”

“We told him everything.” Cassian secured the bandage on Baze's belly. “It seemed fair to let him know.”

Baze grunted and tried to sit up. It hurt, but the pain was tolerable. His head still felt quite hollow and light, however, and he lay down flat on his back again. “Did any of you get hurt?”

Chirrut shook his head. “Just a few superficial scratches. Bodhi's okay.”

“Thank the Whills.” He sighed and reached out a paw to touch Cassian's cheek, and then Jyn's and lastly, Bodhi's. “Go to bed, all of you. Sleep yourselves out.”

However, Chirrut stayed after the children had gone back to the Sanctum. He sat on the edge of the thin mattress.

Baze was too tired to play games. “What do you want?”

“You should've been honest with me about your condition,” said Chirrut. “It's not as though it's a contagious disease.”

“Sure, tell the pilgrim that we're all animals.”

“I'm no mage or wizard, but surely there is a counter-spell?”

“If there is, we're not aware of it.” Baze's great chest expanded and fell. It felt good to be safe and warm. “You don't have to stay here, you know. We have nothing to offer you.”

The blind man only smiled, showing too much gum. “Still a grump. May I?”

“May you what?”

“I'd like to know what you look like.”

Baze caught on. If he was more alert, he'd probably reject the request. Instead he just rumbled his assent.

First, Chirrut set aside his staff, and then his left hand reached out. His fingers brushed the tips of Baze's curved horns and began tracing them down to where they jutted from Baze's head. As his hands skimmed down, they brushed over Baze's mane and then found his pointed dog-like ears. Curiously, Chirrut rubbed the pads of his thumbs over them. A tremor of pleasure rippled through the last Guardian and he could not hide the purr that emanated from his throat.

The blind monk grinned. “Liked that, huh.”

“Shut up.”

Chirrut shut up. He resumed his exploration. His fingers tangled in the thick mane. Carefully, he started untangling the long hair. He frowned when he found that there were knots that he could not undo.

“Tomorrow, I'll have Jyn help me give you a trim,” he declared.

“What?”

“Matted fur leads to lice infections and other diseases.”

“I keep myself clean,” Baze protested. Chirrut yanked on one of the knots. “Ow! Watch it!”

“Can't. I'm blind.”

Baze groaned. “I really wish I'd kept you thrown out.”

Chirrut laughed and shook his hand free of the tangled mane. “Too late. The kids want me here.” Now his hands drifted down to Baze's jaw and moved along his muzzle. The guardian kept his mouth closed, unwilling to let Chirrut touch his fangs. He sniffed when the monk's palm moved over his nose – spices, uneti wood from his staff, and blood, layered over a scent that cued itself as _Chirrut_ – and closed his eyes when the man touched his eyelids and brushed over his whiskers.

Finally Chirrut drew his hands back. “You're a good person.”

Baze harrumphed. “You could tell from touching the face of a monster?”

“You're not a monster, Baze Malbus, and no one believes you are. Except you.” The monk patted Baze on one of his horns and tugged playfully on a furry ear, making Baze purr and then growl irritably. “Sleep. I will keep watch over you.”

“The kids-”

“-are safe. Sleep, Guardian.” Chirrut took the chair that Cassian had been using. He began chanting a prayer again. Baze recognized it as the seventh mantra of Aludin, one that was purported to aid healing. He sighed and shut his eyes, drifting to sleep listening to the soft murmur of Chirrut's voice.

 


	5. Chapter 5

The day after the incident in the woods, Chirrut asked the youngsters if he could 'look' at them. Bodhi was the first to approach Chirrut and let him feel his features. The monk had marveled at the long ears, while Bodhi giggled when he was allowed to feel Chirrut's round ears in return. Cassian was next. His fur rippled as Chirrut petted his sleek head, but he stayed still, and demurred when the man offered Cassian to touch his short hair. Jyn was the least willing, but she allowed Chirrut to hold her paws and then, carefully, extended her claws for him to feel their sharp points.

“I bet if I don't bite my nails, I can have mine as sharp as yours too,” he remarked, and a rare smile blossomed on Jyn's face. Baze had forgotten how pretty her eyes could look. He wondered what she'd look like as a human.

“What about Uncle Baze?” asked Bodhi when Jyn withdrew her paws.

Chirrut's grin was blinding. “I already did him last night.”

If Baze could blush, he would be bright red. As it was, a tiny growl of protest rumbled in his chest. The blind man did not quail at all – he even winked cheekily in Baze's direction.

“Aww...” Bodhi kicked a pebble.

Cassian cleared his throat. He glanced at Baze and scrunched up his nose, as if he was trying to hide his amusement. “Come on, I'll gather firewood and tonight's dinner. Bodhi, you and Jyn work on the fence today, alright? With the wolves so near, we have to make sure the fence is strong.”

The three children scattered, Jyn and Bodhi bickering about who was to carry the materials.

“And what about me, Uncle Baze?” Chirrut asked, still teasing, rising to his feet. “What job do I get?”

Baze grunted, ignoring the _Uncle_ for now. His arm was twinging a little “I'm checking the walls.”

“No, _I'm_ checking the walls. You are going to be my eyes,” said the blind monk, all seriousness now. “And don't argue with me. The last time you argued with me, Bodhi and I nearly got eaten by wolves.”

Baze snorted. He knew Chirrut was trying to bait him. “Oh, you're not going to use that against me.”

“Try me.”

***

After dinner, Chirrut asked Jyn to help him trim Baze's fur. Baze grumbled and complained, but when he saw Jyn grinning with all her small, pointed teeth, he relented.

“Just tell me where and I'll-”

“Uh-uh, you hand those scissors to Jyn. She can use them with Cassian's help. You stay out of this.”

“Uncle Baze, why won't you let Chirrut trim your fur?”

Baze glared at Chirrut, knowing it was pointless. “Bodhi, Chirrut is blind.”

The monk clapped a hand to his chest. “Gasp! I had no idea! Baze, you hurt my feelings. How could you?”

If there had been any lingering resentment from their incident the night before, the resulting peals of laughter erased all traces of it.

***

Impossibly, they settled into a pattern.

Baze recovered quickly, and though he still had his reservations about having a human among them, Chirrut became a fixture in their lives. The man was quick with anecdotes and jokes, and leavened the increasingly cold days with humor and good cheer. Once he familiarized himself with the layout, he was good at sealing up minute fissures and cracks in the walls that even Baze could not see.

“I can feel the wind when I walk past,” said the man when Baze asked him one afternoon. “The air smells different.”

The two of them spent a great deal of time together. Usually, once the three youngsters were asleep, Baze and Chirrut would prowl the perimeter of the temple for at least an hour or two. Chirrut suffered severe insomnia, apparently, a byproduct of his blindness.

They spoke of the Whills, of the world beyond the temple. They spoke of the Empire, of Palpatine who seized power, of how the imperial army had put the population under their bootheels.

Baze was glad of news, but he was also puzzled. “What happened to the other temples, the other Sanctums?”

“Destroyed,” Chirrut replied simply. His demeanor had transformed instantly, from summery warmth to wintry chill. “They stormed the temples and ripped every ounce of kyber from the walls and out of the ground.”

“Why would they need that much kyber? They've already robbed us of the Kyber Keystone.”

“I don't know. Yours is the only temple left, Guardian.” The blind man's staff thudded a little more firmly on the stone floor. “I was to be a guardian, did you know?”

Baze shook his head. With his fur trimmed, the weight of his mane was much reduced. “You never said anything to the kids.”

“They're hardly kids, Baze Malbus.”

“I'm old. They'll always be kids to me.”

Chirrut chuckled and went on. “As I was trying to confide, I was going to be a guardian when the troops came. They ripped apart... everything. I was away on my truth-seeking walk, and when I returned, I returned to _nothing_. Not a blade of grass, not a single brick or tile, not even the youngest child. I found out later that the imperial troops didn't kill them. They _took_ them. And enslaved them. The soldiers I fought – they were kids taken from other families. Robbed of their parents and indoctrinated by the Empire.”

A chill that had nothing to do with the weather crept down Baze's spine. “So you... started a pilgrimage? Why?”

“To visit all the temples,” said Chirrut quietly. “There were rumors of their destruction. I had to verify, for myself. Yours is... yours is the only one standing. I don't know why your lives were spared-”

“Spared?” Baze gestured to himself. Then he remembered that Chirrut could not see. “They turned us into monsters.”

Chirrut snorted. “They made you into beasts. Not monsters. And more importantly, you're not brainwashed into laying down your lives for them. I mean, picture Bodhi or Cassian or Jyn working for them. Dressed in imperial armor, killing civilians on the orders of a tyrant?”

The angry growl that emanated involuntarily from Baze was a clear indication of his feelings about that matter.

They walked on. The sickle moon hung thin and foreboding in the night, and again a chorus of distant howls warned them of their precarious safety.

“Winter's approaching soon,” said Baze after they had checked on the sleeping trio and returned to the small room that Chirrut had appropriated for his own, an antechamber just off the Sanctum. It was where Baze kept his kyber that still glowed and pulsed with life. “I fear that you may not withstand the cold.”

“I'll just snuggle up against you,” said Chirrut with a cheeky smile. “Big pile of fur like you should keep me plenty warm. Come on, I want to brush out your tangles. We didn't get to do that earlier.”

Baze hesitated. They didn't do this without the kids around. But he couldn't deny that it was nice to have someone fussing over him. It was soothing to have comforting hands comb through his long fur, and even though Chirrut still liked to tug on his ears, it was a pleasant way for the two adults to unwind at the end of the day.

But Jyn had a knowing look in her large gray eyes and Cassian watched them a little too closely, like there was a secret he wanted to ferret out.

“I should – I should go back in, go to sleep,” he said at last.

Chirrut shrugged and reached up on tiptoe to tug on Baze's ear. He didn't know that Baze tilted his great shaggy head so that the monk could reach it. “Goodnight, Guardian.”

“Goodnight, Chirrut.” On impulse, Baze added, “Sweet dreams.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

They were a family now, somehow. Chirrut filled a gap that Baze and the kids didn't know existed. He brought joy back to their lives, cursed as they were, and even with the winter approaching, the rundown temple had never felt warmer.

Before their meals, Chirrut would lead a brief prayer of thanks, no matter how meager the food; at night, before they turned in, Chirrut would tell stories of what he'd experienced, always skirting around the more macabre or painful, though he'd confide in Baze after the younger ones had fallen asleep. Sometimes, Chirrut would leave in the morning to head to the nearest village, half a day away, and return only the following afternoon. It didn't take long for the three youngsters to catch on that Baze would be more irritable when Chirrut was gone. But the monk always returned, laden with dried goods. No one knew how he was able to pay for it all.

“When I'm there, I pray for those who require prayer,” said Chirrut when Jyn finally asked him outright. “They don't give much, but most shopkeepers don't mind handing bruised goods to a blind monk, and the blind monk won't care if the food items are not visually appealing.”

“Isn't that charity?” asked Jyn.

Chirrut smiled. “Yes. They feel better when I accept their offerings. I'm giving them a measure of peace in these tumultuous times. I am _almost_ a Guardian of the Whills, after all. Even if the Empire has outlawed all religion.”

“People will seek faith regardless,” Baze interjected. He grumbled when Chirrut reached up to tug his ear, even though he did hunker down a little just so the man could reach it.

A strangely gleeful light came into Jyn's bright feline eyes. She ran off before Baze could ask her about it.

Baze liked chatting with Chirrut. Sometimes they argued over the teachings of the Whills. Baze's memories of those lessons were rusty, but he could still hold his own against the blind monk. Chirrut even convinced Baze to dig out a box of old texts from a cupboard in one of the former guardians' rooms. Baze had read aloud in his rumbling growl, and every now and then Chirrut would interrupt to debate a point.

***

When the heating unit in the Sanctum broke down, Cassian went to Chirrut.

“I can't fix it or any of the other units without certain parts,” said Cassian frankly.

The blind man cocked his head. “You're asking if I can go into the nearest village to buy them.”

Cassian licked his chops. “I'm asking if you can take me along. You wouldn't know if you've got the right one.”

For the first time, Chirrut hesitated. “It would not be wise, young Cassian.”

“Well, I can't draw the parts! And what if they con you?”

Bodhi heard the conversation and scampered over. “Could you take the old parts so that Chirrut could show the villagers?”

To that suggestion Cassian grudgingly agreed, but there was something about Cassian's tone that worried the blind man.

Cassian was beginning to feel trapped.

Regardless, Chirrut managed to scrounge up the necessary parts, just enough to fix the two heating units in the bedrooms, so the kids no longer had to huddle in the Sanctum. Baze was pleased about it. Jyn had her own room – the smallest one – and the boys shared the larger one. Chirrut preferred a stove, because he liked to boil tea made from his stash of taline bark. The only one without a heater was Baze, so he scrunched in with the boys.

***

The first of the winter storms had all of them huddled in Chirrut's small room, where a fire crackled in the tiny stove and sweet roots were roasting on top of it. While the wind howled outside the temple, Chirrut recounted his trials to become a guardian.

“So the abbot asked me why I laughed in my meditation,” said the blind man, “and I was still so caught up in my revelation that I asked him why he wasn't laughing at the absurdity of the world!”

“So you've always been a little shit,” Baze grumbled. It would have been unfriendly, except he had laid his great head on Chirrut's thigh so the monk could comb through tangles in the thick mane with his fingers. It was very soothing for the Guardian; he had to watch himself to make sure he didn't purr. By now, the children were so used to Chirrut grooming Baze that they no longer looked at them oddly. It wasn't as though the monk didn't pet the youngsters on their heads or squeezed their paws in thanks. Besides, only the guardian needed regular grooming, with his thick, shaggy mane that hung around his fearsome face and broad shoulders.

“Hush, you,” Chirrut scolded, pulling Baze's ear. Baze snarled reflexively. “Think about it. Clouds stay up in the sky, tree roots grow down into the ground, some snakes slither faster than some people can walk, and grapes can ripen into wine. Why is blue blue? Why does a heart beat? Why does a kyber crystal sing? None of these things make sense, but they _are_ , and that is the sheer irrationality of the world.”

“So what did the abbot say to that?” Bodhi pressed eagerly, not concerned with Chirrut's philosophical musings.

“He failed my trial and I had to undergo it again the following month. I managed to restrain my mirth this time, and only because I had a bet on with my friend Daxan.”

“You're incorrigible,” Jyn remarked, a prim look on her face.

“And you're to go to bed,” said Chirrut. He patted Baze's horn absently. “I want to speak to Uncle Baze a little longer. Goodnight, kids.”

“Goodnight, Chirrut,” chorused the youngsters. “Night, Uncle Baze.”

Once they were alone, Chirrut shifted and indicated that Baze should sit up. His expression was very solemn, an unusual look on him.

Baze's hackles rose. “What's wrong?”

“When I went into town to pick up parts for the heaters,” Chirrut murmured, “I heard a rumor that the Empire is looking for more kyber.”

“They'd already taken kyber from all the temples.”

“Yes. But not from this one.” Chirrut placed a hand on the back of a huge paw. “You have yours, still, and the late guardians' crystals sing from their graves. The walls of the Sanctum... I'd thought that the energy I felt from it were remnants from when you had the Keystone, but there's more. There has to be more.”

Baze's suspicions grew. Suddenly he wondered if this had been a long con. Had Chirrut been worming his way into the small group to discover what secrets were left in this temple, the first and oldest of the Whills?

“I can hear you suspecting me,” Chirrut said with a small smile. “Good. Don't tell me anything about the temple or any secrets it might hold. But the imperial sorcerers will come here. If I can hear the kyber singing across the land to draw me close, others will too. You must be prepared.”

“For what?”

To run.” Chirrut squeezed Baze's paw. “If and when the time comes, take the children and run. Lives are more important than stone.”

Baze barked a humorless laugh. “Chirrut, not everyone is blind. They'd see we're monsters.”

“They will see that you've been cursed by the Empire. They will understand. They will shelter you.”

“You trust too much, Chirrut.”

The monk snorted. “And you don't trust enough.” His expression softened and he squeezed Baze's paw again. “Stay tonight. I'd appreciate your warmth and your company.”

If Baze could blush, he would. “I-I should go to the room I share with the boys.”

“Stay,” Chirrut murmured. He cocked his head, as if listening to something behind his shoulder, and then crawled forward to sit in the cradle of Baze's legs. He settled in, one arm snug against Baze's broad, furred chest, the other holding a great paw to curl about his waist. “When you're around, it feels like the air is singing to every nerve in my body. I feel... I feel safer. More content.”

Baze swallowed. Giving in to impulse, he nuzzled his cheek against Chirrut's head. “Nothing can come of this, you know. We can't... we can't _be_ together.”

This was the first time they were acknowledging that there was something between them. It had been clear since Baze rescued Chirrut nearly five weeks ago, but stating it outright was different.

Now, there was something to lose.

“I know,” Chirrut whispered, and curled closer. “But this is good enough.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

Bodhi and Cassian both looked irritatingly smug the next day when they were out collecting dead twigs and branches for the kitchen stove. Cassian kept whispering into Bodhi's ear and the two kept giggling whenever they glanced over their shoulder at Baze.

Finally, Baze growled, “What?”

“Uncle Baze, it was so much roomier last night in our room,” said Bodhi innocently.

“I didn't even have to worry if I'd step on anyone when I get off the bed,” Cassian added.

Bodhi hopped closer, his floppy ears pricked. “Does Chirrut snore?”

The guardian grunted. “It's not... We're not like  _that_.”

“But I want it to be like that for you.” The youngest one slumped his shoulders. “You're always so serious and aloof. I don't think you smiled in the ten years until Chirrut came.”

“It's complicated, Bodhi,” said Baze quietly. He ruffled his charge's fur. “For one thing, look at us. One beast, one human. It's too strange.”

“If we break the spell, you'd be free to be with him.”

“He's a monk, Cassian.”

“So are you, technically. And his abbot's dead, Uncle Baze! I doubt the Whills care if you both got together.” Cassian kicked a small broken twig. It flew into a nearby river, the one that they used for washing in the temple. It was still running strong. “Not like they've cared at all.”

In the past, Baze would've admonished him. Now he did not even respond. He had already had his own crisis of faith years ago, after the other guardians died and he alone was left with the young ones. He stared at the river. Beyond was a world all four of them had never explored. Chirrut had come hundreds of miles.

“Even if we never change back,” Bodhi said suddenly, “I'd rather be with you all than be with the Empire.”

Baze smiled. “Me too.”

The wind shifted. Cassian perked up and froze. “Uncle Baze.”

“I smell it,” Baze snarled. They were too far from the temple to warn Jyn and Chirrut in time... except Cassian could make it. “Take the river. Lead them to the bunker, you know which one.”

“Yes Uncle Baze.” Cassian shucked out of his clothes and slipped into the water. He swam nearly as quickly as any otter would, a black, sleek arrow heading straight to the temple. Baze bundled up Cassian's clothes and turned to Bodhi.

“Bodhi, run ahead to the back of the temple but don't go in. Stay out of sight, count the number of soldiers. I'll catch up as soon as I can.”

“Yes Uncle Baze.”

***

Chirrut was washing turnips by hand when he felt a _shift_. It was not a physical one, since Jyn had not reacted, but he knew something was wrong. The kitchen was on the west side of the temple, with a little fire in the brick stove to keep warm with and to cook with later. They had about ten minutes, perhaps.

“Jyn, is there someplace safe you can hide?”

“Hide? Why do I have to-” She suddenly froze, her back rigid. “Chirrut, I think I hear people coming up the path. Marching boots.”

“If they're marching, they're soldiers. Is there a place for you to hide?”

“It's under the Sanctum. We can't get there in time without being seen,” she said, keeping her voice low. She took his hand and tugged. “Should I put out the fire?”

Chirrut nodded. “With sand, not water. Then head out the back gate.”

With the fire safely out, Chirrut pulled his cloak around him more tightly and gripped his staff. He hoped Baze and the boys were safely hidden in the woods. “Go on, out the back.”

“But you-”

“I'll delay them. Go, Jyn. Baze would never forgive me if anything happened to you.” He reached for something around his neck and pulled. A small starbird pendant dangled from a black cord. “Give it to Baze.”

Jyn wanted to argue further, but the sounds of strangers was more obvious now. She snarled and dashed away, her steps soundless even with her paws bound in thick cloth to protect from the snow.

The blind man took a deep breath. Then he guided himself back to the main building, praying softly under his breath.

***

Cassian shook himself from head to tail. Though he hated his current beastly form, there were advantages to it. He ran on all fours towards the back gate, hoping that he was in time, and collided with Jyn running out.

“Jyn!” Cassian got to his hind feet. “Is everything alright? Where's Chirrut?”

Jyn was trembling. “He told me to run. Where's Bodhi and Uncle Baze?”

Before either of them could answer, they heard shouting from the main temple. Jyn made as though to charge right back inside, but Cassian grabbed her just in time and dragged her into the scant shelter of the woods.

“What are you doing?” Jyn hissed, her claws digging painfully into Cassian's forelimbs.

“What are _you_ doing?” Cassian shot back. He shook her and shoved her against a thick uneti tree. “Chirrut risked his life to make sure you have time to escape. You running back in there puts you back in danger!”

“We can't just leave him in there!” Jyn's eyes were brimming with tears.

“What makes you think Uncle Baze would?” Cassian was about to add something else when they heard a sharp, ringing blast and then the skies overhead turned dark. Lightning slashed like claws across thick black clouds and thunder rumbled in warning.

Both Jyn and Cassian knew what the change in weather meant. There was an Imperial sorcerer in there, a powerful one. The heavens had been as ominous as this ten years ago when they were hit with the same spell that changed Baze Malbus.

Bodhi dashed up to them. He was panting, his thin chest heaving strongly. “Ch-chirrut?”

“We'll wait for Uncle Baze. Catch your breath, Bodhi. We're going to need your ears.” Cassian tried to hide the nervousness he felt. “Jyn, do you remember how to get into the bunker?”

Jyn nodded. “I've only recited it to myself nightly for the past decade.”

Cassian took a deep breath. “Once Uncle Baze gets here, we're going to need to get Chirrut in there. Stop for nothing, you understand? Not Bodhi, not me, not Uncle Baze. Chirrut. He's the only one who can trigger the mechanism now.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

Chirrut Imwe had been called 'reckless' before, but this was bordering 'idiotic'. However, he had to ensure that Jyn got out of there. Baze and the boys were safe – they _had_ to be – and when Jyn found them, Baze would make certain that the youngsters stayed out of the fray. He hoped Baze would be smart enough not to charge in either.

He recognized the make of the boots that had marched into the Sanctum, and he definitely knew the sound of a dozen crossbows aimed at him. He grinned. “Good day.”

“What do we have here?” a snide, nasal voice asked. There was a shuffle of feet and someone walked up to him. “A blind beggar?”

Chirrut smiled in the direction of the voice. “I am a fallen monk who took shelter here last night. Is there something wrong, Mister...?”

The man snorted. “ _Sir_ Krennic.”

“Of course,” said Chirrut, still smiling, and added, “sir.”

“Last night, you said. Is there anyone else here then?”

The imperial sorcerers always needed both hands to shape their spells, according to what Chirrut had heard from his travels. He pretended to ponder. “Well, I found a heating unit and some turnips stored in one room, so I guess someone was living here for a while? But it was really cold – the heater, I mean – and was difficult to turn on. If I had to guess, I'd say that whoever was living here had gone away.”

“You four,” Krennic barked, “search the compound. When the coven gets here in an hour, we'll start digging.”

 _An hour. That's easier._ “Sounds like you have something to do here. Should I leave?”

As he turned to go, Krennic grabbed his arm. “No. I think you would do very well to remain here.”

 _Perfect._ Quick as a snake, Chirrut grabbed Krennic's wrist and twisted it up his back. The man shouted in surprised pain and Chirrut quickly wrapped his free arm around the man's neck, exerting just enough pressure to show that he meant business.

“You should've let me go,” he said pleasantly to Krennic. To the soldiers, he said, “You might get lucky, but before I die, he will be extremely unlucky.”

“Don't shoot!” Krennic yelled.

The blink monk dragged them both towards the tiny antechamber inside the Sanctum, always keeping the sorcerer in front of him as a shield. There was no other way into it, and the door was thick. Chirrut let go of the man's throat long enough to shut the door and lock it. Then he swept the man's feet from under him with his staff, then slammed his face into the wall. The first time prompted a cry of agony, the second silence. Krennic went limp.

While the soldiers outside yelled and pounded fruitlessly on the door, Chirrut ripped a strip of fabric from the unconscious man's cape and tied his bony wrists to his ankles. It was an uncomfortable position for Krennic, but the monk was in no mood to be charitable. This gambit should occupy the soldiers for more than enough time to let Baze and the kids make their way safely to another place.

***

The fur along Baze's arms and down his broad back bristled, but he reined in his wrath. The three youngsters needed him to stay level, and he had to trust that Chirrut knew what he was doing.

Though what that blind monk thought he could do against a dozen armed men and an imperial wizard was beyond the guardian.

“Bodhi, you and Cassian will divert the rest of the soldiers. Run, don't fight. You know every nook and cranny, where you can be safe. Use them. Keep the soldiers away from the bunker. Jyn, the bunker. You remember the procedure. Have it ready. The lights don't work anymore, so I'm relying on you to see who comes in. Trigger the traps to take down anyone who isn't us or Chirrut.” Baze breathed out. “If neither Chirrut nor I make it, all three of you run. Run like the wind.”

“Uncle Baze-”

“No arguing. I won't have you killed by those imperial scum.” Baze ruffled their heads. “Ten minutes. Go.”

***

Chirrut shifted his grip on his staff. He could hear the splintering in the wood of the door. At any moment, someone was going to break through.

Then an enormous roar outside made Chirrut break into a huge grin.

“Idiot,” he muttered aloud. With another strike of his staff across Krennic's head, he opened the door and stepped out into the fray.

In his hands, the staff danced into an unstoppable force. The corridors of the temple were not narrow, but there was nowhere to run. The soldiers were stuck between a whirling warrior-monk, and a fearsome beast who was literally throwing them against the wall and raking their armor apart with his claws.

Chirrut knocked aside the last of the eight and grinned at Baze. “There are four or five more wandering the corridors. A coven of imperial sorcerers are arriving in less than an hour. Where are the kids?”

“What were you thinking, coming back to delay them?” Baze roared, ignoring the monk's question. “You could've been killed!”

“I wasn't killed.”

Baze grabbed Chirrut's arm. “That isn't the point. How do you think Jyn would've felt if you had fallen?”

“Oh.” The blind man went still. Then he patted Baze's great paw. “We should leave. This dozen is only the scouting party. There will be more.”

“I'm counting on it. Follow me,” said Baze, loping ahead, casually throwing a soldier who had just crawled to a sitting position into his fellow soldiers and knocking him out again. “Remember when you asked me why the presence of kyber was still strong even though the Keystone is gone?”

“Not in those exact words, but yes.”

“I'm going to show you.”

***

Bodhi bounded ahead, skillfully darting around corners and through narrow gaps in the temple. Two soldiers were after him, their heavy boots thudding heavily as they gave chase. Bodhi ducked into one room and fled out the other side, clambering up a flight of steps, careful to avoid the two bad ones, and then hid in a cubby set into the wall. It was a tighter squeeze than it used to be when he used to play hide-and-seek with Cassian and Jyn, but he could still conceal himself completely in it.

The soldiers charged into the room.

“Where did that creature go?” one of them asked the other.

“Up the stairs.” This one hefted his spear. “There's no other way out. It has to have gone up."

Bodhi's hackles rose. _It?_ He was not an 'it'.

The soldiers stamped up the stairs. Bodhi counted every step. When the soldiers reached the fourteenth, they crashed through and fell down, bringing with them the steps before and after. Bodhi poked his head out cautiously, and leaped down the flight of stairs. Time to help Cassian.

***

If Cassian had his way, he'd have personally battled the two soldiers following him. But Baze was adamant that he did not stay and fight.

Baze hadn't said Cassian couldn't trick them into killing themselves though.

There was an outer corridor that Baze forbade everyone from using. He and Cassian had shored up the wall with the bricks that had fallen, but until they had mortar, the wall was nothing but a vertical stack of heavy stones. Cassian shot ahead of the two giving chase, but just as he ran into the weakened section, he slapped his hind paw against the base of the wall and then, again, when he was racing past it.

The wall came down like – well, like a wall of bricks. Cassian didn't stop to assess the damage. He was going to help Bodhi.

***

Baze's growl identified him and Chirrut before Jyn could slap her paw onto the trigger mechanism that would loose a hundred arrows down the corridor. The dim light helped her see where the good steps were, and so she called out instructions softly.

“Where are we?” Chirrut asked. His nerves were taut with anticipation.

“Underground,” said Baze. “We were going to move the Keystone somewhere else, but the imperial sorcerers struck before we could do it. Here, down the right walkway. Keep your head low. Jyn, stay here. The boys should be coming any time soon.”

The air was damp with mold. Chirrut tapped his staff along the floor, keeping his senses focused on Baze. As they proceeded, the tingle of kyber began to shimmer over Chirrut's skin. Its song grew louder, drowning out even Baze's heavy tread.

Then Baze took his hand. “There are twelve steps down.”

“What's at the end?”

“The Kyber Lock.” Baze's grip tightened. “Only a kyber-sensitive human can trigger it. It'll release a wave of power to destroy magic for hundreds of miles around."

Chirrut froze. "But - but you and the kids - you've been cursed.  _You're_ magical beings now."

Baze pulled the blind monk after him, forging ahead through memory alone. "And take out an imperial coven."

"Baze, it's not worth it."

"Chirrut," said Baze, when they were at the foot of the steps, "the kids and I have lived ten years in our beastly forms. We know what it means to trigger the Lock. And we are ready."

"But I _love_ you." Chirrut's voice had gone wild and high. "I love you and I love the kids, and you're telling me that you will die if I-"

" _May_. May die. But even if we do, it will be worth it, crippling the Empire even for a while. If you don't, they'll kill us anyway, and they will have what they're looking for." The hulking beast crushed Chirrut in an embrace. "Would that we had met in happier times. Now, come. You know what it means to be a Guardian, Chirrut. Don't fail the Whills now."

 


	9. Chapter 9

Cassian and Bodhi crashed into each other by the entrance to the sanctum.

“Bo, you're alright?” Cassian blurted once he got his bearings.

“Yes.” Bodhi's long ears pricked up. “Do you think Uncle Baze and Chirrut are already down there?”

“I hope so.”

Bodhi washed his paws nervously together, large eyes blinking rapidly. “Cassian, if Chirrut activates the Kyber Lock...”

Cassian nodded. He patted Bodhi's arm. “I know. Let's go down and look for Jyn. None of us should be alone.”

***

Jyn could still hear Chirrut tapping his way after Baze. It was a gamble, of course, but it was a gamble worth making. She vaguely recalled the lessons about the Lock from the late Guardians: it was a weapon that should not ever be used, it could erase magic for miles around, it was a physical reminder about how something seemingly benevolent like kyber could be a tool of great destruction.

In the early years of the curse, she had asked Uncle Baze why the Guardians hadn't triggered the Lock when the imperial sorcerers first came.

“We were outnumbered,” Uncle Baze had said simply. “We were trying to save the Keystone, which enhances magical powers. Destroying magic would have destroyed more than the imperial sorcerers.”

“Do you regret not killing them all that day?”

“Sometimes. But if the Guardians had fought, then you, Bodhi and Cassian would have been conscripted into their service, forever enslaved to their will. There are few things in the world worse than being a slave, Jyn. This,” he'd gestured to his shaggy mane, his snout, his paws, “keeps us from living in the world among people, but at least we are still living. For that I thank the Whills.”

 _The Whills don't care,_ she thought rebelliously. _If they did, we'd have been able to undo this curse years ago._

Suddenly, Jyn's tail and whiskers twitched. She crouched down, peering at the entrance of the dark passageway, when she saw the boys.

“Cassian, Bodhi, slow down,” she called out. “Step only where I tell you to step!”

***

For five minutes, Baze fumbled with the rusted padlock, before he became frustrated and smashed through the door to where the Kyber Lock was. Chirrut was visibly suffering from the proximity to the Lock; sweat was pouring from his brow and he was grimacing, his teeth gritted together.

Baze's paw enveloped the blind man's hand. “Soon.”

Not being that sensitive to kyber, Baze only had a glimpse of what ailed Chirrut. Unlike the Keystone, which poured out energy as a gift, the Lock emitted a harsh, grating aura that scraped over the mind. That was why the Lock was placed in an underground room, shielded and hidden. Baze had come here only twice: once, when he was an initiate taking his Guardian's Walk, and the second time was some years ago, after the two other guardians passed. He had brought the kids to see it and to know what it would do.

“We are cursed, so we cannot trigger the mechanism,” he had told them, “but there may come a day when we may find a way to do so if we have no other recourse. Do you understand what I'm saying?”

“You're saying that if we are going to die from an attack by the Empire, we might as well try to kill them all.” Cassian's tone had been flat.

Bodhi had hugged Baze's leg. “Is it really that bad?” he'd whispered.

“It is that powerful, yes. The Keystone is most likely with the Emperor now, so the blast from here will not stop until it reaches the Keystone.”

Proud Jyn had studied the mechanism and said, “If it'll take the Emperor and some sorcerers down, I'd be happy to lay down my life.”

Baze had wished the kids hadn't needed to know, but it would have been unfair for him to risk their lives as well.

And here was Chirrut, kyber sensitive and protective of the kids, about to activate the Lock that was going to kill a lot of people and hopefully bring about the downfall of the Emperor.

In the center of the room was a plain-looking cylindrical block of kyber on a large pedestal. On it were etched ancient runes of protection.

“I can feel it,” said Chirrut, before Baze could speak. “Do I have to... I don't want to kill you and the kids, Baze.”

“It's only a possibility,” said the cursed guardian. He squeezed Chirrut's hand between his paws. “There is a chute. You have to reach down it to get to a switch which you push upwards, but once you put your hand inside, you cannot pull out.”

“Why not?”

“Because the inside of the chute is full of backwards-facing hooks that will rip your hand to shreds. The moment you reach in, you'll feel the hooks. Pushing forward won't hurt you.” Baze brushed a claw tenderly over Chirrut's cheek. “When you're done, the hooks will retract. I think.”

“I hope.” Chirrut wet his lips. “I know I have to do this, but I don't like it.”

Baze then led Chirrut's hand to the opening of the chute set into the pedeestal. Before the monk could begin, however, the trio of youngsters rushed in.

“Uncle Baze!” Bodhi gasped. He leaped forward and scrambled up to Baze's shoulder to sit on his favorite perch. “We have to be together for this.”

Jyn and Cassian each took one of Baze's paws. Jyn, characteristically, remained stoic, and while Cassian's nose kept wiggling and his fur rippled, he did not try to dissuade Chirrut.

The blind man took a deep breath and set his hand inside. Baze winced when he heard the hooks. Chirrut nodded and murmured a short prayer to himself as he slid his hand forward up to his elbow. Abruptly he was thrown aside by an invisible force. He screamed, blood pouring from his arm.

The youngsters were horrified and dashed over, but Baze whirled around to see a man in a white outfit with a sorcerer's cape standing at the broken entryway.

“I can't have you doing that,” said the man. The end of his cape was ragged, and his wrists were reddened.

“Who are you?” Baze demanded.

“Sorcerer Krennic. I'm here for the Kyber Lock. Now, get out of my way.” Krennic drew a complicated sigil with his fingers and sent the three young people flying to the far end of the room. Baze felt the push but he hunkered down, teeth bared, and did not budge an inch.

Krennic looked nonplussed. “That was supposed to shove you aside.”

“I am a Guardian of the Whills, sorcerer.” Baze uttered a quick prayer under his breath. “I stand my ground against those who would subjugate us.”

“Subjugate?” Krennic burst into laughter. “I have no desire to subjugate a beast like you. An animal is an animal, even if it can talk.” His smile disappeared. “Now, your head mounted on the wall of my study... That will be spectacular.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Baze saw Chirrut stir. He hoped the monk had not given up. Baze snarled again and stalked around Krennic, keeping his condescending gaze away from Chirrut.

“Maybe I'll have _your_ head mounted in the sanctum,” he spat out. He dug his long claws into the wall and scratched. “It'll be all that's left of you.”

_Come on, Chirrut, I believe you can do it._

The blind monk sat up, right arm still streaming blood. Instead of calling out for help, Chirrut inched his way forward, prone on the floor, his mouth set with fierce determination.

The sorcerer would see Chirrut soon. Baze roared at Krennic and rushed him, snapping his jaws at the sorcerer's throat. He would distract Krennic until it was all over.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Hope you like it. The end notes is for a short scene not entirely suitable for an epilogue but i had too much fun hearing their dialogue to omit it.

Chirrut had been afraid for his life before, a long time ago, when he was very young. He had been newly blind then and his parents, unable to cope with a sickly, blind child, had left him somewhere in the wilderness.

He had not cried out then. When he woke, he had called out for his mother and father, and once he realized he was alone, he had struggled to his feet. He had walked. He sometimes had nightmares of those few days, of hunger and thirst creeping in insidiously, until he knew nothing but hunger and thirst, of not knowing if he was headed towards civilization or a cliff. He had been terrified. With every step he had been certain he was going to die. He lost track of time. Other than heat and cold, he had not been able to tell whether it was day or night. He had drunk when he came across water – it had tasted of mud and sand. He had not eaten. By the time hunger and thirst won out, he had been on his knees, still crawling forward.

Then his master had found him, half a day from a temple.

Since then, Chirrut had always known he was living on borrowed time. He was meant to perish in the wild, a child deliberately lost. Even when he was in the woods and the wolves closed in, he had been more afraid for Bodhi than himself. He had been saved by the Whills for a purpose.

He had been searching for that purpose all his life. The belief kept him going when his own temple was razed, when his own master and his brethren were killed, when he learned that the fosterlings of the temple had been claimed by the Empire to be made into soldiers. It kept him sane when he found out, through discreet questioning and at great personal risk, _how_ the children were made into soldiers.

The sorcerers had powerful magics that controlled the darkest parts of a person's mind, and with that magic they had all the soldiers they could ever want. They bred fear, hatred, anger – and they used all of those emotions to control the poor young people sealed into cursed armor, forever their puppets.

He had then felt the Whills' call in the north, away from the heart of the Empire, and he had followed, despite his misgivings.

He had not told Baze, but when he first stepped into the derelict temple, he finally felt that this was where he belonged. The Whills wanted him here, he knew. Every night he had prayed, after Baze accepted him into the temple, for the Whills to make clear what was expected of Chirrut. Even as he was falling for the cursed Guardian, Chirrut had been wary. He had found great joy, and with great joy would come great sorrow. That was the balance. That was the Force.

And now, the purpose was clear.

His arm was bleeding but he could use it. His fingers had brushed the top of a handle, earlier, before he had been flung aside. There had been a sizzle of power leaping from the handle to his skin, as if it recognized him. It had to be him to trigger the Kyber Lock. He wasn't a magician or a sorcerer to use kyber crystal, but he was sensitive to it, and this was why he was sensitive to it.

He could hear the battle going on, the wild roars and the bursts of spells colliding into the walls. The youngsters were here too, somewhere, and Chirrut hoped they had not been hurt by Krennic. He should have killed the sorcerer when he could, but he had never knowingly taken a life.

His groping hand found the hole where he would need to slide his arm in. Ripping a strip of fabric from his robe, he wrapped his bleeding hand. He must not lose his grip again. Cautiously, Chirrut got to his feet, and then plunged his hand through until he could grasp the handle.

“I am with the Force,” he breathed, and pushed it upwards. “The Force is with me.”

***

Jyn turned her head at the precise moment Chirrut triggered the mechanism. The kyber crystal, which had been placed atop the pedestal, suddenly dropped. They all heard the heavy thunk.

Abruptly the world exploded with light and sound.

Jyn cried out, but she could not hear her own voice. She felt compressed, as though she was being squeezed into a narrow chink in the wall. She knew she had her eyes shut, but it was still glaringly, blindingly white.

And then it went dark and silent.

It was so quiet she could hear her blood pumping in her ears.

“Cassian?” she whispered, and winced. It was as though she was shouting. Swallowing, she tried again. “Cassian? Bodhi? Uncle Baze?”

The blast from the Lock had shoved them all apart. She skittered backwards until she hit the wall. It was reassuring to have that behind her as she tried to find her bearings.

“What have you done?” someone screeched. It had to be Krennic, Jyn decided. It was an unfamiliar voice. “What did you do?”

Vision came back to her slowly, like a fog dissipating. Jyn blinked a few times. She could make out vague silhouettes, but it was too dark. She squinted.

The most obvious was Krennic in his white cloak. Then, just beyond him, a man kneeling at the base of the pedestal. Somehow Krennic had found Chirrut's staff, and was swinging it towards the back of the monk's head.

“Chirrut!” she screamed.

There was a sickening crack.

From the middle of the floor, a hulking figure unfolded. Baze leaped at Krennic with a wordless roar and, without a single word, snapped his neck.

The sorcerer fell in a broken heap.

Jyn stared. She could not see clearly, but she heard everything, and her imagination filled in the rest. Her fingers dug into her palms while she tried to catch her breath.

***

Baze was still in his beastly form. He didn't care. All he cared about was Chirrut lying slumped against the stone base. Dropping Krennic's dead body like so much trash, Baze rushed to Chirrut. Gingerly he extracted the man's arm from the chute – the hooks had retracted, thankfully, but the wounds were still bleeding.

“Chirrut, Chirrut please, please, Whills save us, you cannot die now,” he repeated. His huge hairy arms dwarfed the man cradled in them. He pressed his ear to Chirrut's chest. There. A heartbeat. Faint but present. “Chirrut, come, come back, come back. Come back to me, come back.”

He felt rather than heard Chirrut whisper his name. He brought his face to Chirrut's.

“Baze?”

“I'm here. I'm here.”

“Did it work? Did it – did it take away magic?”

Baze swallowed. “It took away the magic from the sorcerer. It worked, Chirrut. You saved us.”

“Good. That's good.” Chirrut coughed. “My head hurts. Why does it hurt?”

“The sorcerer hit you on the back of your head.”

“He's dead? The sorcerer?”

“Yes.” Baze clutched Chirrut more closely to himself.

The monk murmured, “I'd like to kiss you. Even once.”

“I'm still – the curse, it didn't lift-”

“I don't care.” Chirrut's breathing went faint. “Please. One kiss.”

Baze leaned the side of his muzzle to Chirrut's mouth. He could smell the man's blood caking his injured arm. Chirrut did not wait further but pressed his lips to Baze's cheek. Baze closed his eyes and a shudder ran through him, like threads twined with his nerves had been pulled away.

***

Slowly coming back to his senses, Cassian fumbled as he stood. He felt taller, different from before, but it was only when he touched his face that he realized how much of a change had taken place.

“I'm... Bodhi, Jyn, Uncle Baze, we're not – we're human again!” he exclaimed.

“I can't see anything.” Bodhi's voice was shaking. “Cassian, where are you? Jyn?”

Cassian squinted until he could make out vague shapes. Apparently his eyesight was much better as part-otter, but he was not going to complain. He found his way to the wall and began exploring along it until he collided gently with Bodhi, who was still only semi-conscious. After waking Bodhi, the two of them found Jyn a dozen more steps along the wall, near a corner. Cassian helped her to her feet.

“Can you believe it?” he asked, still half in doubt himself.

“Chirrut activated the switch,” Jyn said, numbly. “He activated the switch and Uncle Baze – Uncle Baze killed the sorcerer. Krennic.”

Bodhi's warm grip on Jyn's wrist tightened. His fingers were strong. “Uncle Baze? Chirrut?”

Jyn tugged on the boys' hands. “They're over there.”

“You can see?”

“Not clearly, but I'm getting used to the dark.” She led them forward until they were behind Baze. “Uncle Baze?”

“We're fine.” It was Chirrut who answered. “He's fine. We're all fine.”

Baze laughed. It was a lighter sound, without the familiar growl in the note. “You're far from fine. Come, we have to get your wounds dressed.”

***

The blast from the Kyber Lock had been felt all the way to the heart of the Empire, they later learned. It not only disabled all the imperial sorcerers, it also erased their magical hold over most of the soldiers, barring those who had been enslaved the longest. The Emperor himself was soon under siege by rebels and abandoned his throne, leaving his most faithful knights to defend an empty palace.

The news filtered slowly to where Baze, Chirrut and the three youngsters settled down, however. All they knew was that the soldiers who had been going to the temple for them didn't. Still, they left the temple that same day and went into the village where Chirrut got his supplies. There, they found a small cottage, just large enough for their needs.

Once she was sure that Chirrut was not going to die from the clout to his head, Jyn admitted that she wanted to head south.

“My father is in the palace,” she told them eight nights after the blast. “I have to find him.”

“Let us come with you,” Baze said.

“It's alright, Uncle Baze, you deserve to rest,” she said. “I can take care of myself.”

Chirrut shook his head. “I know you can, but you don't have to.”

“You're not going anywhere, monk,” Baze scolded.

“I can go with her,” Cassian piped up. His dark, intelligent eyes met Baze's. “Bodhi too. We three need to see the world, and we can take care of one another.”

Bodhi nodded eagerly. “There are so many machines out here that I can learn about. I hear that there are big towns developing flying machines, Uncle Baze, built to fight against the Empire.”

Baze was not ready to let them go. “You've only just returned to this form a week ago. What if the Empire catches you? There are things you don't know about the world-”

“Don't steal from those who have less, don't lie unless the truth gets you killed, and pay what you owe,” Chirrut interrupted. “Do good where you can, and barter services for goods if you have to.”

“Chirrut?”

“No offense, Baze, but they deserve to see the world. They deserve to see what I've been fighting for. And they're smart enough to keep out of trouble.”

“But-”

Jyn clasped Baze's hand in hers. “Uncle Baze, we'll come back when I find my dad. I need to know if he's alive. Whether he is or not, once I know, I'll come home. I'll come back here.”

Looking at his charges' expressions, Baze knew it was useless to deny them. Still, he insisted that they waited another week, so as to barter enough supplies for them. By then they had heard of the fall of the imperial sorcerers, and Jyn was ever more eager to go. The two young men were also ready to set off with her to see the wider world.

Baze and Chirrut stayed. They had already found all they wanted. 

***

***

Once upon a time, a monk came to a temple which lay under a curse.

He lifted the curse with blood and won his prize with a kiss.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Baze?”  
> “Yes Chirrut?”  
> “Are you sure the curse is entirely lifted?”  
> “What do you mean?”  
> “I mean... this, down here.”  
> “Wh- Chirrut, you- Stop doing th-that.”  
> “Maybe I should call you the Beast, darling.”  
> “If you don't stop, Chirrut, I am going to... nnnngh. _Chirrut_.”  
>  “I like that. I'm not going to stop. Ooh, you're even _bigger_ now.”  
>  “Some monk you are.”  
> “You love me.”  
> “You are my favorite curse.”

**Author's Note:**

> [i have written a book! Please consider purchasing one.](https://www.akleewrites.com/)


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